In the year 2014, we can do all kinds of things online, but canceling your internet service online—no way.

In the year 2014, we can do all kinds of things online. We can stream a multitude of films from several massive catalogs. We can talk to someone across the globe instantly and will soon even cross the language barrier. We can find that particular subreddit filled with cat GIFs or just, you know, have humanity's collected works right at our fingertips. But canceling your internet service online—no way.

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You may have already stumbled across former tech editor Ryan Block's ten-minute plea with an overzealous Comcast customer service rep to cancel his account. If you haven't, listen with caution—it's tortuous.

The fallout from this unnecessary back-and-forth went about as expected. Block did eventually cancel his service, and Comcast gave the usual apologetic remarks after the public relations black eye went viral. Here's exactly what Comcast's senior vice president of customer service Tom Karinshak had to say on the matter:

"We are very embarrassed by the way our employee spoke with Mr. Block and are contacting him to personally apologize. The way in which our representative communicated with him is unacceptable and not consistent with how we train our customer service representatives. We are investigating this situation and will take quick action. While the overwhelming majority of our employees work very hard to do the right thing every day, we are using this very unfortunate experience to reinforce how important it is to always treat our customers with the utmost respect."

This is all well and good. But you know what would have been better? If Karinshak had used this opportunity to say something along the lines of "we will re-evaluate how we handle cancelations"—that would have provided at least a glimmer of silver lining to this "unfortunate experience."

The fact is that many if not most big companies (Comcast is hardly the only one) breed this type of customer service antagonism, and the blame doesn't fall squarely on the rep's shoulders. As The Awl mentions, this customer service rep was most likely forced into a no-win scenario. He's supposed to try to convince the caller to remain a Comcast customer. If Block cancels, then the rep's performance rating suffers. Not every conversation between customer service rep and called descend into borderline hysterics, but similar conversations plays out every day all over the country.

Which brings us to this point: In the year 2014, why must we cancel via telephone? The option can exist, but it should be secondary. Just imagine Comcast with an automated system featuring an exit survey that lets the company know why they're losing you. If someone says "too slow," the system could provide an offer to upgrade their service on the cheap. Too expensive, then it offers price cuts. Or it just lets them go.

Of course, there's a reason Comcast and other companies don't offer online cancellation: They don't want you to leave, so they make it as difficult as possible. It's much easier to click through an online survey than to get out your phone, call the company, wait on hold, and then deal with a customer service rep whose job it is to cajole you into staying.

Still, Comcast might want to rethink this strategy. The American Customer Satisfaction Index, which keeps track of customer satisfaction among all types of businesses and industries, rates Comcast and Time-Warner Cable, soon to be comfy bedfellows, as the two worst in the U.S. As Salon points out, if and when these companies do combine, the continued absence of specific net neutrality policies makes Comcast even more powerful.

When does the benefit outweigh the cost? What's the cost when a negotiation gone awry and leaks on the internet for millions to hear? That's a question Comcast should ask itself right now.